Extra-curricular activities and youth risky behaviours in South Africa

The authors examined the relations between participation in a range of high school extracurricular contexts and developmental outcomes in adolescence and young adulthood among an economically diverse sample of African American and European American youths. In general, when some prior self-selection factors were controlled, 11th graders' participation in school clubs and organized sports was associated with concurrent indicators of academic and psychological adjustment and with drug and alcohol use. In addition, participation in 11th grade school clubs and prosocial activities was associated with educational status and civic engagement at 1 year after high school. A few of the concurrent and longitudinal relations between activity participation and development were moderated by race and gender. Finally, breadth of participation, or number of activity contexts, was associated with positive academic, psychological, and behavioral outcomes.

The goal of this study was to understand better how the structure and social context of adolescent leisure activities relates to antisocial behavior. A representative sample of 703 14-year-olds and their parents were assessed concerning adolescent involvement in community-based leisure activities, peer and adult social relations, and antisocial behavior. Results showed that participation in highly structured leisure activities was linked to low levels of antisocial behavior, while participation in activities with low structure (i.e. a youth recreation center) was associated with high levels of antisocial behavior. Overall the results were similar for boys and girls; however, the combination of involvement in a low structured activity and the absence of any highly structured participation appeared especially problematic for boys' antisocial behavior. Participants of low structured activities were also characterized by deviant peer relations, poor parent-child relations, and they received low support from their activity leader compared to adolescents engaged in more structured community activities. Findings are discussed in terms of their implication for prevention research.

Youth alcohol consumption is a major global public health concern. Previous reviews have concluded that exposure to alcohol marketing was associated with earlier drinking initiation and higher alcohol consumption among youth. This review examined longitudinal studies published since those earlier reviews.